Saving-Over, over-saving, and the future mess of writers' digital archives: A survey report on the personal digital archiving practices of emerging writers

Abstract

This article reports findings from a survey of 110 writers' personal digital archiving practices. The authors found that most writers neglect digital archival concerns, and consequently, their digital archives consist of poorly managed, highly distributed, and unsystematically labeled files. Writers are not entirely to blame for their neglect, however, as they develop archival practices idiosyncratically, with little or no guidance from information professionals, and 80% indicate they would welcome instruction on digital preservation. The authors recommend that archivists actively approach writers to offer guidance on the best and simplest ways to organize and archive their files so as to prevent further losses.© Devin Becker and Collier Nogues.